Apparatus for dating closure members in coded form



April 25, 1961 J. B. MELVILLE 2,981,041

APPARATUS FOR DATING CLOSURE MEMBERS IN CODED FORM Filed NOV. 19, 1957fie. J.

r INVENTOR. 2 f/ 25 J0///VB.MLV/LLE 26 W I, 24 BY lil ' ,QTTOQNEYSAPPARATUS FOR DATING CLOSURE MEMBERS IN CODED FORM The present inventionrelates to apparatus for securing closure members to containers and morespecifically to means incorporated in such apparatus whereby informationis placed on said closure member.

In the process of bottling milk, for example, it is desirable that theclosure member contain information as to the time of bottling so thatpersons subsequently handling the bottled milk may have an indication asto its freshness and for the purpose of establishing responsibility. Inthe past, this has been accomplished by printing the name of the day onthe closure member; and this thus necessitated the printing and stockingof many different closure members which would have to be used oncorrespondingly different days. Also, this past practice, suffered fromthe disadvantage that one could not be sure from just reading of theparticular week in which the milk was bottled.

In accordance with the present invention more detailed information isplaced on the closure member automatically when and as the closuremember is secured to the bottle without the necessity of maintaining, instock, different preprinted closure members.

An object of the invention is to provide improved means and techniquesfor placing information on closure members of containers.

A specific object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpressure foot construction in bottling machines whereby information isautomatically placed on the closure member while it is being secured toa bottle.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improvedpressure foot construction in which projections extending therefrom maybe adjusted relative to each other for imparting the desiredinformation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangementwhereby the time of bottling is placed on the closure member in codedform.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a simplearrangement, capable of easy adjustment, for dating closure members incoded form.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement fordating closure members without the use of elements other than those newused in bottling systems.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement inwhich the coded information appears as no-n-obliterable indentations inthe closure member.

The features of the present invention which are believed to be novel areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. This inventionitself, both as to its organization and manner of operation, togetherwith further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood byreference to the following description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 illustrates a bottling system which incorporates features ofthe present invention.

Figure 2 shows in enlarged form, and partly in section, some of thedetails of the pressure foot embodying nit ed States Patent 2 featuresof the present invention in cooperative relation ship to a bottle andits closure member.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of the cap or closure member engagingside of the pressure foot shown in Fig. 2, as indicated also by the line33 in Fig. 4.

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views taken on corresponding lines 4-4 and5-5 in Fig. 3.

Figures 6 and 7 are top plan views of different caps or closure membersthat have been dated differently after using the apparatus shown inFigure 1.

While the invention is described specifically in connection with thebottling of milk, it is understood that it is applicable also to thepackaging of other products.

The closure member or bottle cap 19 is illustrated as a conventional capin which an outer circular layer of deformable aluminum foil is bondedto a like inner cireular layer of protective paper.

The apparatus, as presently described, serves to produce indentations insuch metal cap as indicated in Figs. 6 and 7 automatically when and asthe cap is being secured to a bottle 11. These indentations providecoded information. The indentation 12 is common to all bottle caps andcomprises a reference indentation with respect to which the otheradjustably positioned indentation 13A in Fig. 6 or indentation 13B inFig. 7 is read. Both indentations 12 and 13A or 12 and 1313, as the casemay be are made in the bottle capat the same time. As a matter of fact,that indentation which corresponds to either indentation 13A or 13B maybe in any one of 31 different positions with respect to the referenceindentation 12 so as to permit a corresponding determination of thecorresponding day in a month having thirty-one days.

Such pair of indentations in any one particular cap is made byprojections 17 and 18 on a modified pressure foot 19, which embodiesimportant features of the present invention.

The pressure foot 19 comprises generally a modified cylindrical portion21 having means in the form of a tapped hole 20 for releasably securingthe same in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. An indexable disc 22 isrotatably and resiliently mounted in the cylindrical portion 21 by meansof an O-ring 24 which is disposed in an annular recess 25 and betweentwo flanges on the shaft 26, the shaft 26 being secured to the disc 22.The cylindrical portion 21 has an integrally formed annular flangeportion 28 in which the projection or pin 18 is secured. This pin 18produces the aforementioned reference indentation 12. The otherprojection or pin 17 is secured to the disc 22 and produces the otheraforementioned indentation exemplified by the indentation 13A or 13B.

It will be observed in Fig. 4 that the outer surface of disc 22 is in acommon plane with the annular outer surface 23 of the flanged portion 28and that such surface 23 is contiguous with the annular curved or dishedportion 33 so that a cap, as shown in Fig.2, may be firmly held by suchsurfaces against and partially around the mouth of the bottle 11 whenand as such indentations 12 and 13 are being made in the cap 10.

The disc 22, as indicated previously, and as shown in Fig. 3, has atleast 31 notched portions and, to be exact, 32 notched portions on itsperiphery which is engaged by the stationary pin 18 for maintaining thedisc in an indexed position. The disc 22 also has a pair ofdiametrically disposed apertured portions 40 and 41 which are used tomove the disc 22 to a different selected indexed position. For thispurpose, a tool 42 as shown in Fig. 5, is inserted in such aperturedportions and torque is manually applied to turn the disc 22 with respectto the cylindrical portion 21. When this is done, the resilient supportprovided by the O-ring 24 allows the notched portions of the disc toride over the stationary indexing pin N creating some noise that allowsthe person making the ad ustment to ascertain the amount of angularmovement, 1.e., the number of days the disc 22 has been advanced. Itwill be seen that this adjustment or indexing of the disc 22 may beaccomplished without removing the pressure foot 19 from the machineshown in Fig. 1.

Apart from the details of the pressure foot 19, described above, and itsfunctioning to furnish coded information, the machine in Fig. 1 isconsidered to be conventional. In other words, the pressure foot 19 maybe substituted for the conventional pressure foot in such machine andwhen such substitution is effected, the new functions and resultsindicated above are produced. For these reasons, an elaboratedescription of conventional features of the machine shown in Fig. 1 isconsidered unnecessary.

Briefiy, the machine shown in Fig. 1 includes a cylindrical storagemagazine 50, mounted on a baseor supporting structure 51, in which caps10, in their flat form are stored, and from which they are individuallydispensed so as to overlie the mouth ofa bottle 11 in the bottlingoperation. A weight 52 is placed on the stack of caps to assure properdispensing. Means are provrded for lifting individual bottles 11 insuccession, up against a cap 10 and the pressure foot 19; and such meansincludes the power actuated element 54 which is slidably mounted formovement, as indicated by the arrows 55, on the stationary tubularmember 56, such movement being guided by a key 57 on tubular element 56which cooperates with a grooved portion in the sleeve 58 that isattached to element 54.

Such slidably mounted sleeve 58 has a bell crank 60 p voted thereon at61. One end of hell crank 60 has plvoted thereon a bearing block 63which is slidably mounted between two spaced cooperating guides 65 and66 on cap magazine 50, the other end of crank 60 being pivoted to oneend of a link 68 at 69, for producing slidyrzg movement of the capfeeder or dispensing assembly Such assembly includes an abutment 73 uponwhich the stack of caps 10 are supported and a generally U- shapedpusher element 74, above the abutment 73 for engaging and moving onlythe lowermost one of the caps 10 to a position above the mouth of abottle 11 (which is being moved at the same time) when the element 55 isreciprocated. In such movement of pusher element 74, 1t is guided bycooperating surfaces on support 51.

After a cap 10 thus overlies the mouth of the bottle, the bottlecontinues to be raised and while thus being ralsed, the peripheral edgeof the cap is crimped around the mouth of the bottle by a series ofcircumferentially arranged fingers 80 that are urged inwardly by thespring 81 and resiliently supported by spring 82. In the last stages ofthe crimping operation, the cap 10 is being pressed against the pressurefoot 19 and the projections 17 and 18 carried thereon, as shown in Fig.2 to produce the indentations 12 and 13A in cap 10. The pressure foot 19is also resiliently supported and is allowed to slide in the circularguide aperture in plate 85 on base 51.

The pressure foot is constantly urged downwardly by a prestressed coilcompression spring 86 housed with tubular element 56. One end of spring86 bears against the circular guide plate 87 to which the pressure footis attached by bolt 88. The other end of spring 86 bears against anadjustable circular abutment 90 which may be adjustably positioned usingconventional means 92 for adjusting the forces exerted by spring 86.When a bottle is not in position for crimping a cap thereto, movement ofthe presser foot 19 is limited due to contact between plates 85 and 87.

It will be thus observed that coded information in the form illustratedin Figs. 6 and 7 is impressed in the cap 10 While it is being crimpedaround the mouth of a bottle. The angular separation of these twoindentations, using the center of the cap as the apex of the angleprovides thedes'ir'e'd informatioii as to the day on which bottlingoccurred. This angular separation may vary from 0 to a value approaching360 degrees in steps of 360/32 or approximately 11 degrees. Theindentation represented by either indentation 13A or 13B is advanced onestep each day for each day in the month so that such angular separationbetween indentations 12 and 13A (or 13B) is an indication of theparticular day in the month that bottling occurred.

It will be seen that this information is not dependent upon theorientation of the pressure foot assembly 19 in the machine in Fig. 1,since both pins 17 and 18 are carried on the assembly. Further, asmentioned above, using a tool illustrated by'the'tool 42 in Fig. 5, theangular separation may be adjusted daily without removing the pressurefoot from the machine.

While the particular embodiments of the present invention have beenshown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art thatchanges and modifications may be made without departing from thisinvention in its broader aspects and, therefore, the aim in the appendedclaims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within thetrue spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A pressure foot for use in producing coded indentations in adeformable closure member while the same is being secured to a containercomprising in combination a member, means on said member for releasablysecuring the same in a mechanism for securing said closure member tosaid container, a disc, said disc having a shaft extending therefrom, aresilient O-ring between said shaft and said member in which said discis rotatably and resiliently mounted, a projection extending outwardlyfrom said disc for producing an indentation in said closure member, saiddisc having a series of pcripheral notched portions, and a secondprojection on said member, for producing an indentation in said closuremember, and being engageable with a selected one of said notchedportions to maintain said disc in a selected indexed position.

2. In an arrangement wherein a deformable closure member is secured to acontainer, a pressure foot having a closure member engaging surface fordeforming said member with coded projections extending therefrom forproducing corresponding coded indentations in said closure member, meansfor producing relative movement between said pressure foot, on the onehand and said container with a closure member thereon, on the other handto produce said coded indentations, said pressure foot comprising adisc, means rotatably supporting said disc on said pressure foot, saiddisc having a series of peripherally disposed indexing notches, one ofsaid projections being engagea-ble with a selected one of said notchesto index said disc, a second one of said projections being on said disc,said disc supporting means incorporating resilient means acting betweena relatively stationary portion of the pressure foot and said disc andpressing said one selected notch into engagement with said oneprojection, said one projection being stationary, said resilient meansallowing rotation of the disc past said one stationary projection whensaid disc is manually rotated.

3. An arrangement as set forth in claim 2 in which said disc has a pairof apertured means accessible from the closure member engaging side ofsaid pressure foot for indexing said disc with respect to said oneprojection.

4. In an arrangement wherein a deformable closure member is secured to acontainer, a pressure foot having a closure member engaging surface fordeforming said member with coded projections extending therefrom forproducing corresponding coded indentations in said closure member, meansfor producing relative movement between said pressure foot, on the onehand and said container with a closure member thereon, on the other berengaging side of said pressure foot for indexing said hand to producesaid coded indentations, said pressure disc with respect to said oneprojection.

foot comprising a disc, means rotatably supporting said disc on saidpressure foot, said disc having a series of peferences C fl 1n the fil flS pa en ripherally disposed indexing notches, one of said projec- 5UNITED STATES PATENTS tions being engageable with a selected one of sa1dnotches to index said disc, a second one of said projections being745,244 Schulz 1903 on Said i 773,455 Bartholomew Oct. 25, 1904 5. Anarrangement as set forth in claim 4 in which said 2,129,359 Pommer P1938 disc has means thereon accessible from the closure mem- 10 3 1Lidke 1959

